Focus on the dual system

The focus was on vocational education and training in Germany during the first East Württemberg Economic Talk at the Hammerschmiede in Königsbronn. The speaker was Dr Hans-Peter Klös, Managing Director of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW).

"The transition from school to professional life is remarkably smooth in Germany. An excellently developed vocational education and training system allows young people to enter into the employment market well prepared." This is the conclusion of the latest OECD report. Meanwhile, almost all EU Member States look to Germany. Yet even though the German vocational education and training system has acquired role model status, there are plenty of problems, as could be overheard at the first "Wirtschaftsgespräch Ostwürttemberg" (East Württemberg Economic Talk).

Dr Hans-Peter Klös referred to vocational education and training as one of the cornerstones of the German education system. However, the graduate political economist did not withhold criticism and pointed to problems that will become an issue especially in the future. The fact that the OECD looked into this subject matter was deemed a positive sign by the speaker. He said that it is important to avoid playing off academic and vocational education against each other. "The principle of equality applies here," said Klös.

In his opinion, it is too late to close the gap created by the demographic development. The already widespread skilled labour shortage will continue to further increase. In particular in the field of technical occupations, there are already some one hundred "shortage occupations". He said that vocational orientation must become an integrated part of general secondary education. Problems exist with unskilled young people and with people with a migration background.

Moreover, the demand for skilled labour in regionally defined, separate employment markets exceeds the supply, so that jobs remain permanently vacant. This problem applies also to the region of East Württemberg, as Klaus Moser, Managing Director of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and Dr Tobias Mehlich of the Chamber of Crafts in Ulm both agreed. They reported that the number of shortage occupations is particularly high in the field of industrial-technical professions. In the field of academic professions, the shortages apply primarily to the STEM disciplines and the healthcare professions. According to Klös, special attention should be placed in particular on underachieving applicants in the efforts to tap additional potential for filling vocational education and training placements.

The speaker arrived at the conclusion that the dual vocational education and training system will continue to be a cornerstone of the German business model also in the future, because it provides the best conditions for meeting the skilled labour demand on part of small and medium-sized businesses. The aim, he said, is to tap additional potential. This includes recruitment from abroad. Another path, he suggested, would be to "professionalise" academic education, as is practised by the dual system universities. Last but not least, said Klös, the integration of underachieving groups into the dual vocational education and training system will become more important.